After an uneven offensive performance Tuesday in Florham Park, the Jets rebounded with a better effort in East Rutherford on Wednesday as Tanner Engstrand's unit unleashed a physical ground game against the Giants impressive defensive front.

The tone was set early in the first team period as QB Justin Fields broke into the open field for an explosive run. On an RPO, he faked the handoff and then blazed up the home sideline for a big gain and the Jets were off and running.

"This was an outstanding practice for a number of reasons, and I am so happy how the offense came back and responded from some of the things I thought we weren't as good at yesterday," HC Aaron Glenn told reporters. "Our offense came out and responded and that was from the very beginning. I could just tell during the warm-up that they were ready to go and that's what I expect out of our team when they're challenged, when things don't go right, when things don't go how we expect them to go. For them to come back and respond the way they did, I thought that was growth on a number of levels for us."

During that same period, Adrian Martinez, taking reps following Fields, hit WR Brandon Smith for a first down. Smith (6-1, 218) is a long-limbed target who executed a nice stretch for the ball, secured it and then got his feet down. Smith later added a catch in a two-minute situational drill.

"That's one guy I probably haven't talked about enough," Glenn said of Smith. "But I like where he's at and he's steadily improving on a daily basis. It's good when your younger guys are showing up because it pushes the older guys. They got to get going because this is going to be a team of the best guys are going to be here and the guys that fit us."

The Giants got to Fields during several plays in another team sequence. After a RB Breece Hall run, Fields most likely would have been sacked before throwing a long incompletion in WR Arian Smith's direction. Then after a short toss from Fields to RB Braelon Allen, two rushers converged on Fields before he threw an incomplete pass to WR Garrett Wilson well down the field. The joint practices gave the Jets the opportunity to face a D-Line that features NT Dexter Lawrence, edge Brian Burns and rookie sensation Abdul Carter

"The way they moved their guys around was really unique especially with Abdul (Carter) and (Brian) Burns" Hall said. "Sometimes those guys are lining up wide-9, 6-technique, sometimes they're lining up over the center. You have to be alert to where they are. We had a protection today where they went to kind of a nickel, 4-2 look, 4-2-5 look and if Burns would have blitzed – I would have had to pick him up."

The Jets' most impressive drive of the day was a two-play firework display on the ground. Starting in plus territory, Hall got about 10 yards along the left side. Then following a blocking caravan that included LG John Simpson and LT Olu Fashanu, Allen galloped 30 yards into the end zone.

"We performed really good, leaning on the run game right now," Hall said. "So that's been fun but we're still getting better. We still make mistakes and we're still cleaning stuff up, but it's been fun."

The practice ended with both teams' first-unit defenses winning a late half situation. Taking over at the NYJ 32 with 1:06 remaining in the second quarter and with a 10-10 score, Fields and the Jets were held to a few short completions and were unable to get into position for a field goal attempt.

"We didn't get a chance to do what we wanted to do in that situation," Glenn said. "That probably was the only situation that I wasn't very pleased with, but I'm not going to let me get down from a lot of things they did well today. Again, I'm very proud of the way our guys came out and challenged. I challenged them yesterday in the meeting and they came out and performed the way I wanted them to perform."

CB Brandon Stephens Continues to Flash
The battle between the Jets defense and Giants offense was missing several standout players, with CB Sauce Gardner, DL Quinnen Williams and LB Jermaine Johnson held out of practice, and Giants WRs Malik Nabers and Darius Slayton also not taking the field.

There was still plenty of competition to go around, and CB Brandon Stephens -- whom HC Aaron Glenn has deemed one of the most improved players throughout training camp -- continued to flash. During the first team period, Stephens ran step for step with Giants receiver Beaux Collins who couldn't quite get to a deep ball from QB Russell Wilson. Later in practice, Stephens broke up a pass from Wilson intended for Giants WR Lil'Jordan Humphrey in the end zone.

"That's one player I've been talking about for the longest during camp," Glenn said. "I mean, I can go back to OTAs and how he's been operating. He's everything that we imagined. He's big [6-1, 216]. He's physical. He has really good coverage skills. I'm looking forward to seeing how he progresses through training camp and during the season. The one thing we have to continue to work on is him being able to get his hands on the ball. … But he's a damn good player, and I'm glad we have him."

The defense applied pressure up front too, and LB Jamien Sherwood said his unit "came out firing."

"7-on-7 started, we got hot quick," Sherwood said. "They completed some, but we came back. In the first team period, again, our main goal was to stop the run, and I feel like we did a good job of that today."

During the second team period, the Jets defense showed resolve again, bouncing back quickly after giving up a touchdown on a QBJaxson Dart and Collins connection. Dart attempted to find Collins again in the end zone on the next play, but rookie S Malachi Moore was there with sticky coverage to prevent the score. Edge Braiden McGregor then immediately blew up a play action fake, recording a would-be sack of Dart. The high level of play continued when Giants QB Jameis Winston stepped in, with LB Aaron Smith and LB Ja’Markis Weston recording tackles for loss and CB Jordan Clark breaking up a pass intended for Giants receiver Juice Wells Jr.

Though the Jets defense gave up additional touchdowns during team periods, the unit finished practice strong during a two-minute drill. The second quarter situation began with the Giants offense on its own 32-yard line. The defense kept points off the board, forcing QB Russell Wilson out of the pocket on several occasions and keeping the Giants offense in Jets territory. The Giants ultimately attempted a field goal from 60-plus yards, and the kick was short.

Jetcetera
The catch of the day went to rookie WR Arian Smith. QB Adrian Martinez spotted an open Smith and threw high during a retreat in the pocket. Smith high-pointed the ball in traffic and came down with an excellent contested catch. … CB Sauce Gardner (calf soreness) was held out of practice. Qwan'tez Stiggers saw an increased workload on the outside across from Brandon Stephens… HC Aaron Glenn was mum on whether the Jets starters would see action Saturday night when the Green & White "visit" the Giants at MetLife Stadium. "The plan is the plan," he said. "That's the plan." With the regular season on the horizon, Glenn's team battled the Giants and temperatures in the low 90s. The Jets' first two road games in the regular season are Week 3 at Tampa Bay (9/21) and Week 4 at Miami (9/29). "We're going to play in situations even worse than this. So, to be able to go out and continue to push, and push, and push, and continue to challenge, it's a huge building block for us, and we have to continue to do that." … S Andre Cisco broke up a Russell Wilson pass intended for Giants receiver Zach Pascal in the end zone. … From the 1-yard line, LB Jackson Sirmon had a tackle for loss of Giants RB Jonathan Ward. … CB Jarrick Bernard-Converse had a would-be sack of Giants QB Jaxson Dart. … QB Brady Cook observed practice but did not take any reps after his ankle was stepped on during Tuesday's session. … During 7-on-7 work, Fields connected with RB Breece Hall, WR Tyler Johnson, WR Garrett Wilson, WR Josh Reynolds and WR Brandon Smith.